Floating cutter for mulcher

ABSTRACT

A floating cutter includes a body having a first end, a second end, a first face, a second face opposed to the first face. Attachment ears are provided at the first end adapted to attach the body to a drive system of a mulcher. A female coupling is on the first face at the second end. A tooth having a cutting head and a depending male coupling adapted to mate with the female coupling is provided on the body. A bolt locks the male coupling within the female coupling to prevent separation during use. A shoulder projecting from the first face of the body adjacent the female coupling prevents relative rotation of the body and the tooth during use.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a floating cutter for a mulcher.

BACKGROUND

Mulchers are used to clear brush. They have a drive system to which areattached a plurality of floating cutters, each of which has one or morecutter teeth.

SUMMARY

According to the present invention there is provided a floating cutter,including a body having a first end, a second end, a first face, asecond face opposed to the first face. Attachment means are provided atthe first end adapted to attach the body to a drive system of a mulcher.A female coupling is on the first face at the second end. A tooth havinga cutting head and a depending male coupling adapted to mate with thefemale coupling is provided on the body. There is means for locking themale coupling within the female coupling to prevent separation duringuse, and means for preventing relative rotation of the body and thetooth during use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent fromthe following description in which reference is made to the appendeddrawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and arenot intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to theparticular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a floating cutter.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the floating cutter body.

FIG. 3 is a detailed perspective view of the floating cutter installedon a mulcher.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of floating cutters installed on a portionof a mulcher.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The preferred embodiment, a floating cutter generally identified byreference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIG. 1through 4.

Structure and Relationship of Parts:

Referring to FIG. 1, floating cutter 10 includes a body 12 having afirst end 14, a second end 16, a first face 18, and a second face 20opposed to first face 18. Positioned at first end 14 are means, such asattachment ears 22, to attach body 12 to a flange 40 of a drive system23 of a mulcher, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Referring again to FIG. 1,at second end 16, there is a female coupling 24 on first face 18 whichextends through body 12 between first face 18 and second face 20. Thereis also a tooth 26 with a cutting head 28. Tooth 26 has a depending malecoupling 30 adapted to mate with female coupling 24 on body 12. Malecoupling 30 is locked within female coupling 24 to prevent separationduring use. As female coupling 24 extends through body 12, this is doneby providing a locking member, such as bolt 34 that engages a remote end36 of male coupling 30 at second face 20 through a narrower portion 37of female coupling 24. Head 35 of bolt 34 is too large to pass throughnarrower portion 37 of female coupling 24. Narrower portion 37 can beseen in FIG. 2. It may be that female coupling 24 is indented slightly(not shown) on second face 20 to receive bolt 34, such that it liesflush or below second face 20, so as not to interfere with drive system23.

Referring to FIG. 1, as shown, cutting head 28 on tooth 26 has a squarebase with planar edges 32. A shoulder 38 projects from first face 18 ofbody 12 adjacent female coupling 24 which engages one of the planaredges 32 of cutting head 28, such that relative rotation of body 12 andtooth 26 is prevented. It will be understood that instead of square,tooth 26 may have a different shape, with shoulder 38 designed to engagethat shape as well. It will also be understood that different means forpreventing relative rotation of body 12 and tooth 26 could also be used.

Operation:

Referring to FIG. 1 through 4, floating cutter 10 is provided asdescribed above. Referring to FIG. 3, body 12 of floating cutter 10 isattached to drive system 23 of a mulcher by aligning attachment ears 22on each side of a flange 40 of drive system 23, and securing the twousing a pin connector 42, such as a bolt. Referring to FIG. 4, it can beseen that flanges 40 may be positioned around drive system 23 in astaggered manner, as is known in the art. Referring to FIG. 1, malecoupling 30 of tooth 26 is inserted into female coupling 24 of body 12,and secured using bolt 34. Tooth 26 is inserted such that planar edge 32abuts shoulder 38 to prevent relative rotation of tooth 26 and shoulder38 during use. As cutting head 28 wears on one side, bolt 34 may beloosened to rotate cutting head 28 such that a less work portion is onthe outside, or tooth 26 may be removed and replaced.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in itsnon-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included,but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to anelement by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibilitythat more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearlyrequires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may bemade to the illustrated embodiments without departing from scope of theClaims.

1. A floating cutter comprising: a body having a first end, a secondend, a first face, a second face opposed to the first face; attachmentmeans at the first end adapted to attach the body to a drive system of amulcher; a female coupling on the first face at the second end; a toothhaving a cutting head and a depending male coupling adapted to mate withthe female coupling on the body; means for locking the male couplingwithin the female coupling to prevent separation during use; and meansfor preventing relative rotation of the body and the tooth during use.2. The floating cutter as defined in claim 1, wherein the attachmentmeans are attachment ears.
 3. The floating cutter as defined in claim 1,wherein the female coupling extends through the body between the firstface and the second face, and the means for locking the male couplingwithin the female coupling includes a locking member that engages aremote end of the male coupling at the second face, the locking memberbeing too large to pass through the female coupling.
 4. The floatingcutter as defined in claim 1, wherein the cutting head on the tooth is apolygon with planar edges, and the means for preventing relativerotation of the body and the tooth is a shoulder projecting from thefirst face of the body adjacent the female coupling which engages one ofthe planar edges of the cutting head.